Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Aug 28

ZURICH, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening 0.35 percent down at 8,875 points on Monday, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer .

The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks.

NOVARTIS

The Swiss drugmaker will seek regulatory approval this year for a new kind of anti-inflammatory heart drug, though some experts fear fatal infection risks and a high price may overshadow the medicine’s limited benefits. The share were indicated down 1.3 percent.

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ALPIQ

The Swiss utility on Monday suspended plans to unload nearly half of its hydroelectric plants, saying potential buyers failed to offer attractive prices and were not prepared to take on risks associated with the money-losing assets.

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CREDIT SUISSE

Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung reported on Saturday that internal Credit Suisse emails show employees have been instructed not to destroy or delete documents related to so-called insurance “wrapper products” as part of a preservation notice following searches at the Swiss bank’s offices in France, the Netherlands, Britain and Australia in March.

COMPANY STATEMENTS

* Roche said it received priority review from the FDA for its Gazyva drug against previously untreated follicular lymphoma. The medicine, known as “son of Rituxan” because of similarities to the Swiss drugmaker’s blockbuster, is already approved to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia and relapsed follicular lymphoma.

* Ems Chemie said net profit for the first half of 2017 rose 6.5 percent to 229 million Swiss francs.

* Aryzta said it has appointed Kevin Toland as its new CEO, and Juergen Steinemann as an independent director. Toland starts work as CEO on Sept. 12.

* Alpiq said that it expects results in 2017 to miss those of the previous year as the company continues to be hurt by low wholesale energy prices and due to an unplanned shutdown of its Leibstadt nuclear power plant.

* Kuros Biosciences said it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for magnetos putty and that it had filed for CE marking in Europe.